


Barking Orders

by theoracleatlasvegas



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 09:06:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13586835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoracleatlasvegas/pseuds/theoracleatlasvegas
Summary: Fenris starts getting kind of bossy with Hawke. The gang, of course, makes a show of teasing them about it, which in turn makes Fenris stop.Big problem: Hawke actually loves being bossed around by Fenris.(Or, alternatively, Hawke Is Whipped As Fuck)





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is unedited so far but im posting it anyway whatever. ill fix later thenks

Varric first notices it one night at the Hanged Man.

Hawke and Fenris have built a surprisingly stable relationship despite its shaky foundation (and it _was_ a shaky one, Varric should know, after the many, many nights Hawke ended up drunkenly crying on his shoulder. Which was a really uncomfortable position for Hawke given his height, proof of how utterly devastated he was).

The changes in their relationship are subtle. Asides from the occasional kissing and touching, and Fenris being a permanent fixture at the estate, the shift in their dynamic is nearly non-existent, things Varric and the rest of them wouldn't have noticed if they didn't know Fenris and Hawke as well as they did.

But Varric's eagle eyed when it comes to reading other people, So of course, Varric notices.

They just finished an incredibly tense match of Wicked Grace (Isabela, as per usual, makes a show of triumphantly taking everyone's soveirgns off the table), and Hawke is drunk, very, very drunk, even for Hawke standards (for all his towering height, the man is a damn lightweight). So drunk he challenges Isabela to a new match despite not having any money left, something they all know will end in disaster, most likely involving clothes being removed or Hawke doing something incredibly embarrassing and borderline illegal when he inevitably loses. Isabela beams, and Hawke calls Edwina over to order more drinks.

It's getting late, something that wouldn't usually bother Varric, but he can't help but feel vaguely concerned, because Hawke is _really, really drunk_ , drunk enough that he wouldn't stand a chance against a group of petty thieves, let alone one of the many people in Kirkwall who want him dead.

Edwina comes over, and Hawke's about to order his, what, 14th drink? when Fenris' voice cuts through.

"That is enough. Thank you." He says to her, which is kind of hypocritical considering the amount of time he's spent drinking wine in the dark in the past few years. Then again, carrying an incredibly hammered Hawke across kirkwall can't be fun. Hawke shoots him a dirty look.

"No, actually I--"

"Hawke," Fenris says his name like a warning. "It's enough," and there's something in his voice, quiet but firm, that makes even Varric pause for a second.

Hawke goes red and stays quiet, looking almost meek (or, at least as close to meek as Hawke can get). After a long pause, Fenris looks at Edwina with a somewhat satisfied look on his face until she sighs and leaves.

Aveline clears her throat, breaking the spell that had them all in silence looking between Fenris and Hawke, and then the conversation resumes as though nothing has happened. Varric engages, but manages to keep an eye out for whatever it is that's going on between the two. Hawke's keeping his head down, shooting sideways looks at Fenris from time to time - this is... odd, to say the least. He's never known Hawke to be still or quiet, let alone apologetic, and somehow this tiny elf has managed to shut him up with barely a word.

Fenris sighs and drops a bag of coins on the table to pay their part of the tab. "Hawke, we're going home," he says, and Hawke doesn't hesitate for a second. Fenris wraps an arm around Hawke's waist as he leans sleepily onto Fenris' frame for support. Isabela calls after them, demanding the promised last match, but they ignore her.

*

The pair show up a little later than eveyone else to Aveline's office the next morning - she said she had a little side-job for them - and Hawke is looking like hell. The dark circles under his eyes, the chapped lips, the sweating and the nauseated look; they can practically smell the hang over on him. Fenris keeps a hand on the small of his back as though he might lose balance any second.

And Varric isn't the only one who paid attention last night, it seems, because Isabela doesn't take longer than a second to pounce.

"Aw, bet you wish you'd listened to _daddy Fenris_ sooner, huh, Hawke?"

"Excuse me?" says Fenris between confused and utterly offended.

She scoffs. "That tone might work on him, Fenny. I actually have a spine."

And now Fenris is definitely leaning more towards offended than confused, though there is a fair amount of that as well. He shoots a worried look at Hawke. The man doesn't seem phased at all by the insult, though. In fact, he seems about two minutes from falling asleep right where he stands. He decides the best course of action, as per usual, is to ignore Isabela and whatever she's going on about.

"Hey, Hawke," he says, softly. He can see Isabela grinning at him from the corner of his eye. He resists the urge to get sucked into this little argument she's trying to incite and decides to focus on his boyfriend instead. He does lean in a little closer so the rest can't hear; he'd be stupid if this thing Isabela is suddenly teasing him about didn't ring at least a distant bell, and that bell might be related to the very thing he's doing right now.

"Yes, love?"

"You need to rest. Go home," and this time it's not forceful, barely an order, but he can see Isabela smirking wider and it makes his blood boil.

"But Aveline--"

"We'll handle it. Go." He brings his hand to cup Hawke's cheek. Maker, he looks terrible. Fenris really shouldn't have let him talk him into going out today.

For once, Hawke doesn't protest. He just nods, which is partly a relief because Isabela has him in a terrible temper and arguing with Hawke about it now wouldn't be pretty. On the other hand, her knowing smile and that little mean-spirited comment about Hawke stay with him, and he suddenly feels like he's been doing something wrong.

*  
Isabela's comments seem to have called attention to that one detail in his and Hawke's interactions in everyone else, though, because soon it becomes the new running gag in their crew.

It starts sort of mild, an occasional chuckle from Varric when he overhears Fenris reminding him to stand behind him in battle; Isabela teasing them whenever she sees Hawke to be too drunk (and then Fenris gritting his teeth as she laughs when he inevitably has to tell him they're going home); Aveline joins in from time to time, too, though her comments have mostly good intentions ( _I'm glad you finally got someone to talk some sense into you, Hawke._ )

After a while, though, it starts to get unnerving. Not only because it's a constant, but because their remarks have begun to border on rude. As Fenris explains to Anders what Hawke needs healed after battle, the asshole takes on an amused expression and asks, "so he speaks for you now, Hawke?"; Isabela laughing loudly in the battlefield and yelling out, _"Maker, Hawke, where's he keeping your balls?"_ after Hawke retreats when Fenris tells him off for getting too close to a dragon. Even Merrill makes a little comment once, which probably hurts the most since it comes from a place of absolute innocence - _"Will Fenris let you come to Wicked Grace tonight? I know you got in trouble last time but..."_ and so on.

The issue isn't exactly that they think Fenris is controlling. That would be mildly upsetting, but he could deal with it. The problem is that most of the teasing and the joking comes at Hawke's expense, and it's starting to worry him. Mainly because Hawke never replies, never teases back, never has any remarks for the way they treat him like a coward, or a baby, or both.

Is it because he's scared of offending Fenris? 

Or, worse, is it because he's scared of _Fenris_?

The mere thought of the last one makes his heart hurt. This needs to stop, because although the constant teasing is obnoxious it's made it dawn on him that he might actually be too possessive or bossy or both and Hawke's definitely hurting for it.

And once he compares the way he's been treating Hawke to the way a master would treat his slave-- there's no turning back from there. Maker. He thought... he really thought he was looking out for his boyfriend, but maybe he's just been breaking him. So, yes. He needs to stop it.

*  
"Alright, Hawke. Spill," Varric says, setting down in front of him. He's been moping around and drinking alone for a good two hours now. Or at least he's been drinking alone for two hours, the moping has been going on for over two weeks.

"Spill what?" He says, cold. That's a new one. Hawke's never been good at secrecy, especially with his own secrets. And most of all, he's never tried to keep the things that bother him to himself if he can talk to Varric about it.

"What's going on with you?" he asks, taken aback. He feels a little guilty for a second. "I know we might be starting to get a little... harsh. About you and Fenris. I can talk to everyone if it bothers you that much and--"

"Do you think I actually care that you lot tease me about that?" he scoffs. "But yes, I _am_ mad at you."

Varric frowns. "Then what are you mad about?"

He throws his hands up, as though it's obvious. "Fenris!"

This is going nowhere. "I'm lost."

" _I_ don't care. But Fenris does. Have you assholes stopped to think for one second about how this makes him feel?"

He gulps. "Uh. We wre just messing with you, just--"

"Fuck off." And. Okay. He _is_ pissed. He turns away. "He feels guilty. He won't even talk to me about it, but I can tell."

"Wait, then why don't you ever tell us off on it?"

"Because I was trying to avoid _this_!"

Varric stays silent. He didn't really think any of it would have an effect on Fenris, but now he's realizing they really screwed up here.

"It was--" Hawke downs the rest of his beer. "It was good, to have him worry about me. I liked that he did those things for me. And you fucked it all up."

It makes sense, now, why he hasn't been to the Hanged Man with Hawke lately, or why he's not constantly worrying about whether Hawke might get hurt, or if Hawke is drinking too much, or eating too little, or--

Yeah. It makes sense now. They all just thought he was being particularly moody. Varric feels bad about it, looking at Hawke slumped down in his chair with his face between his hands. He sighs.

"Alright, here's what you do," he says. Hawke lifts his head at that. "You can't talk to him about it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you gotta force his hand a little."

Hawke narrows his eyes, leans forward. "I'm listening."


	2. chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ty for the kudos. this is almost done so i'll be updating again soon enough.

Fenris is livid. Hawke has been acting like a complete idiot for days now, and for once, he can't do anything about it.

He's been drinking excessively, he's been reckless in battle, he's been neglecting his wounds and going out at odd hours without letting Fenris know where he'll be. He's frankly acting like a child - it reminds Fenris a little of Carver, at this point. And the worst part is now Fenris has to just stand in the sidelines and watch as Hawke does every single thing he hates and he can't say a word about it.

He can't go back to where they were before, though. It was bad for Hawke. Then again, Hawke doing whatever he wants doesn't seem to be the best option either. So he's stuck here, doing nothing about it and pretending it's all good that Hawke's acting like a spoiled brat.

It's not just that Hawke's putting himself at risk, which is obviously the main thing, but he's been kind of an asshole all around lately. He's been acting petulant and ignoring any and all of Fenris' requests, and by now Fenris is almost sure he's doing it on purpose. Even tiny things he knows Fenris dislikes, like leaving his clothes scattered all over the estate, or getting into unnecessary fights with drunk men around Lowtown, now he does without second thought. It has Fenris this close to snapping.

He hasn't, though, but he can't feel even mildly proud of it when he just wants to smack Hawke whenever he so much as opens his mouth.

*

Fenris isn't giving in yet, and to Hawke it's a big problem. He knows he's annoyed and upset with him, but he's not doing anything about it. He's a little scared that this whole thing might be breaking them apart. There's no turning back now, though. Whatever ideas Fenris has been getting since the others started with their little jokes, Fenris is set on them, and Hawke knows him well enough to understand talking to him directly wouldn't do either of them any favors. Fenris wouldn't believe him if he said he loved having Fenris order him around, would probably think he's doing it out of guilt, or, one way or the other, for his sake and not because he genuinely wants to return to where they were before.

Seeing himself between the blade and the wall, he decides it's time to break out the big guns, do something he knows Fenris would really, really hate.

He was hoping it wouldn't come to this.  
*

The breaking point comes at the Hanged Man, with Hawke flirting with Isabela.

Isabela's an easy enough target, he knows that Fenris will be annoyed but he won't take it to heart. It also helps that Isabela will follow along without a second thought.

He starts slow, testing the waters. Laughing way too much at her jokes, letting their legs brush a little, subtly but obviously enough that Fenris will notice.

Fenris stays silent, but definitely starts to realize something's off. He keeps looking at Hawke sideways with a raised eyebrow. He decides to step it up.

"...so I decided to take this girl below deck to have a little _fun_ ," she continues her story, "except we didn't realize this one guy was moving some barrels down there- "

Hawke hums. "I like where this is going," Fenris frowns at him. "Then what?"

"Oh, I think you know what happens next," she says with a wink.

Hawke downs the last of his beer and chuckles. "My, my, Isabela. If I didn't know you I wouldn't believe such a pretty face is capable of such _naughty_ things."

"I think everyone would believe it," she laughs, and Hawke joins in.

"Alright, true." He says, still cackling. "Still, though. At least the pretty face part was true."

"Hawke! Are you coming onto me?" She asks mockingly.

Fenris is damn close to breaking. Hawke looks at him from the corner of his eye, and Fenris catches his gaze. He sends a pissed off look his way and it's clear what he wants to say.

He doesn't, though. So Hawke pushes his luck a little further.

"I would never! Although, I'd be lying if i said I hadn't thought of it in the past," he smirks. He makes a show of looking her up and down, and Fenris' mouth hangs open. "How could I not, with that body of yours."

"And here I thought you liked me for my wit and warm personality."

He laughs again. "Well, that too. Though there's other _warm things_ I can think of that I might like as well."

Alright. That might've been going a little too far. Too crude. He freezes on the spot. Isabela raises an eyebrow and smiles wide. She looks between him and Fenris, and Hawke thinks she might've caught on to what he's doing. He feels a little sick though.

And yes, he went too far, but it worked, because suddenly Fenris is standing up without a word and quickly leaves the bar.

Fuck.

*

Fenris starts walking without looking back. Hawke gets up as if on cue and follows close. Fenris is absolutely _fuming_ , and Hawke can see it, so he doesn't say a word (so, apparently, he _does_ have some sense left), just walks out behind fenris, his shoulders tense. Fenris makes up his mind. He's sure now that all of this has been on purpose now. He walks to the alley behind the Hanged Man.

When he reaches him, Hawke tries to explain himself, but barely gets the "Fenris, I--" out of his mouth before Fenris pushes him (slams him, really) against the wall, getting a hold of his wrists to pin them on either side of his body. The lyrium flares bright blue.

"What," he says, voice deep and forceful, pressing hard against against Hawke's body, "do you think you are doing?"

Hawke swallows. His pupils are blown wide, and they don't stray from Fenris' face. He tries to pull his wrists away from where Fenris is keeping him in place, just testing. Fenris' holds on tighter, determined not to let Hawke get away without a good explanation, and he _growls_. Hawke lets out a shaky breath, his knees going weak. He definitely fucked up, but he can't bring himself to regret it too much with the fierce look on Fenris' face and their bodies close like this. It feels like forever since Fenris was this rough with him, though of course last time it was in much better terms. 

Still, he can't help himself.

"Finally," he says, and leans down, or actually, lunges forward to kiss him, his mouth demanding, all tongue and teeth, and moans. Fenris melts into it for a brief second and it's a huge relief that Hawke wasn't expecting. It gives him the reassurance that things will actually be okay after this.

Fenris pulls away violently, and the glow under his skin is back again. His grip on Hawke's wrists is strong enough to bruise.

"What do you mean 'finally'?" Fenris says, voice dangerously low. Maker, how he's missed that tone.

"I know... you've been feeling like you did something wrong. You didn't. Except, well, when you decided things had to change."

His hands get a little looser, and he suddenly feels self conscious. "I'm not too..." He searches for the word for a second, and settles on the mildest one, "bossy?"

"I _want_ you to be bossy," Hawke says and he's still leaning forward, asking for fenris to kiss him.

Fenris obligues, Hawke's mouth warm. It's sweeter this time, slower. He drops Hawkes arms and wraps his own around his waist. Hawke hums into his mouth as Fenris pushes his tongue past his lips. Hawke's arms come to rest around Fenris' neck and breathing starts to grow heavy.

This wen't better than expected.

Fenris pulls away but keeps their faces close enough. He doesn't really sound pissed anymore. "Wait. So all of this was just to get a reaction out of me?"

Hawke leans down, kisses him sweetly on the lips, barely a peck, before bringing his mouth to Fenris' ear, and whispering.

"I know I've been bad. We should go home so you can punish me."


End file.
